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From: hrubin@pop.stat.purdue.edu (Herman Rubin)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: Compilers and efficiency
Summary: What is the "general computing base"?  Why should hardware be limited
Message-ID: <12235@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>
Date: 12 May 91 11:20:42 GMT
Article-I.D.: mentor.12235
References: <12054@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> <1991May10.204426.24828@ingres.Ingres.COM>
Sender: news@mentor.cc.purdue.edu
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In article <1991May10.204426.24828@ingres.Ingres.COM>, jpk@ingres.com (Jon Krueger) writes:
> In article <12054@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>, Herman Rubin does not address
>  the question:
> >> Why is it so generally important that the distance between
> >> bits can be determined efficiently ... why is it
> >> important to ME, and to the general computing base?
> 
> Instead he addresses the question "why is it so specifically
> ipmortant to Herman Rubin":
> 
> > I believe most people are aware of the existence of simulation, including
> > Monte Carlo, or Las Vegas, methods for obtaining answers to otherwise
> > intractable problems.
> 
> No one asked that question.  We believe it's important to you, Herman.
> Can you answer the question that was asked?
> 
> Why is it important to the general computing base that the distance
> between bits can be determined efficiently?

The summary points out the problems.  Does one have to go to great lengths
to get a car which has features not in the "general driving base"?

Do film companies only make films for the "general public"?

Should one even consider that universities only teach courses for the
"general student"?

In addition, there is much use of instructions for systems programs and
libraries  which the individual programmer will not use.  It is unlikely
that the person using the subroutines which would make use of efficient
obtaining of the distance between 1's in a bit stream would be aware of
this, any more than the person who computes a trigonometric or exponential
function is aware that that algorithm has an integer quotient and floating
remainder in it.

-- 
Herman Rubin, Dept. of Statistics, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette IN47907-1399
Phone: (317)494-6054
hrubin@l.cc.purdue.edu (Internet, bitnet)   {purdue,pur-ee}!l.cc!hrubin(UUCP)